Wednesday (17w1d)

Hi, everyone!

You will have noticed that I am no longer blogging every day - since I am (I hope!) past the critical phase, I didn't think it was quite as necessary to maintain a daily record. But I do want to check in as often as I can.

Continuing to do better by baby steps every day!

Have dropped another Diclectin, so I'm down to 24 mg Zofran and 5 Diclectin.

Yesterday we went to the first MOMS Club event since I started feeling yucky! Our eldest was beyond excited. Poor guy, this summer has been so dull for him. He was as excited as a puppy. And the playdate we attended was at a house that has all boys, so it was full of all the things he loves most - tools, toy guns, super-hero paraphernalia (I don't know how he got into super-heroes, but it happened!), etc. He had a wonderful time. I did too! It was so nice to see other moms and get out for a while.

Of course, the two hours of just sitting and talking was enough to put me under the table for the rest of the day, but that's okay! And I missed our midwife's pregnant-mommy meeting again, but I'll try again in two weeks.

Tomorrow will be a rather nerve-wracking experience - we will be meeting our late pediatrician's replacement doctor. There has been a series of substitutes in the office until now, but the practice has finally sold to a new permanent owner. I'm taking both kids in for their check-ups, and it will be the first time we've been in the office since our pediatrician's funeral last February.

Thus, tomorrow the decision will have to be made - do we stick with this new chap, or move on? I want and need a pediatrician to (1) practice non-interventive medicine, and (2) be okay with all of our counter-culture craziness - midwife-assisted homebirth, longterm breastfeeding, non-vaccination, etc. I don't want a pediatrician who will be constantly disapproving of my decisions or trying to convince me into things that I'm not comfortable with. However, most pediatricians just don't possess that level of utter awesomeness. Too bad!

And by that statement, I don't mean that a pediatrician has to be a homebirther or a non-vaccinator himself - just that he enthusiastically supports the rights of parents to practice informed consent and non-consent. Unfortunately, many (most) pediatricians follow the doctrine of "do what I tell you or else get out."

And, if you think about it, that is very odd! The definition of a good parent is one who does his own research, thinks thoughtfully through issues, and carefully makes a decision based on that information for the good of his child - regardless of whether or not that decision agrees with current advice, trends, or fashions. But much of the time, our culture and our medical system define "good parenting" as "doing what we tell you without asking questions." Seriously???

So, tomorrow will tell! Thankfully I already know which ped we will immediately transfer to if this chap doesn't work out, so it won't be tragic if he's not a winner - if that utter awesomeness has eluded his grasp. :)

With two kids to watch and two check-ups to do, I don't think I'll have the time to fire off interview-type questions, but we should be able to see his reaction to our non-vax decision, and I may try to add homebirth to the general conversation to see his reaction. Hopefully that will do well enough to sound him out! I don't want to waste time in ambiguity while waiting for him to show his true colors. 

Well, I have more to write, but I need to get down to the business of starting this day. I will try to check in soon! Love to all!